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Topic: Sydney: Metro West rail line (Read 1649 times)

Up to 12 rail stations may be built between Sydney's inner city and Parramatta and Westmead under emerging plans for a Metro West train line.

Fairfax Media understands the Metro West line is being planned to use extra tracks and overtaking lines to combine both express trains between Parramatta and the central city, as well as trains stopping at multiple new stations through Sydney's west and inner west.

Under Mike Baird's timetable, the Metro West line was to be built next decade, and be "operational in the second half of the 2020s". Photo: Fiona Morris

The government has committed only to building stations for the line at the Bays Precinct around Rozelle and Olympic Park.

But a total of eight to 12 stations are likely to be included on the line when more detailed plans for Metro West, one of the last major commitments by former premier Mike Baird, emerge later this year.

It is unclear where those stations would be located. However, previous plans for a metro line in the region have included proposed stops at Leichhardt, Five Dock and Strathfield.

A private sector proposal for a metro line along the same corridor, put to the government last year, included stops and significant housing development at Five Dock and Canada Bay.

Under Mr Baird's timetable, the Metro West line was to be built next decade, and be "operational in the second half of the 2020s".

But business groups are increasingly pushing to accelerate work on the project, partly in recognition of the proposed intensification of development around Parramatta and Olympic Park.

The Greater Sydney Commission has nominated the so-called GPOP region  Greater Parramatta to the Olympic Peninsula  as Sydney's "true centre" and earmarked as a focus of planning.

A report commissioned by the Sydney Olympic Park Business Association, released on Tuesday, compares the infrastructure and amenity in the 4000 hectares in the GPOP area with an equivalent 4000 hectares in "east Sydney", an area stretching from the inner west to Bondi Junction.

Based on the government's population forecasts, the GPOP area is expected to be home to about 280,000 people in 2041, about the same as east Sydney now.

But the report highlights the relative lack of amenity and jobs in the GPOP area compared with Sydney's east. The report finds, for instance, that about 60 per cent of east Sydney residents catch public transport or walk to work, compared with 35 per cent of those who live in the GPOP area.

The report by SGS Economics & Planning also argues there needs to be a sharp increase in health and education facilities around the GPOP area to match facilities in the city's east. For instance, it says the number of schools in the region needs to double from 24 to at least 57 by 2041.

The western Sydney director of the Sydney Business Chamber David Borger says the Metro West project is needed as an equity measure.

"It's fine to have an ambition for GPOP and to talk about it in planning documents, but there's still a huge chasm between the provision of infrastructure services and all the things that are required," Mr Borger said.

"If we had the western metro, we would be able to achieve our aspirations for GPOP much quicker.

"If it is finished by the middle of next decade, that would be a good ambition to have."

Transport Minister Andrew Constance has argued the Metro West project is needed to take pressure off Sydney's already overstretched heavy rail line.

"By 2031, with the T1 Western Line, you quite literally won't be able to get people on trains in the morning peak," Mr Constance has said.

It is understood the government hopes to be able to combine both express trains between Parramatta and the city and all-stops services by using passing loops and extra tracks.

This is the method used on Hong Kong's airport train line to fulfil both objectives, although that line is also struggling with capacity.

The line is likely to be planned to extend eventually from Sydney's CBD to the city's south-east suburbs.

Alison Holloway, principal and partner at SGS Economics, says transport accessibility is critical to the government's ambitions for the GPOP area.

"We are seeing now in Green Square what the implications are of planning for population growth without the transport to support it," Ms Holloway said.

"We've got an opportunity here to align the land use planning with the transport and other infrastructure planning."

Hey OzBob, great forum you have its really informative all Queenslands rail situation & my regular go-to to find info on the cross-river rail project.

I just wanted to ask if you if you know where I can find where these metro stations are located. I had a look on the web, for example this site https://www.buildsydney.com/sydney-metro-west-central-station-parramatta/ only shows stations at parramatta, olympic park, the bays precinct & the sydney CBD... would you know where I could get the info on further stations or maybe a link to where they would get posted if they do get released?

Up to 12 rail stations may be built between Sydney's inner city and Parramatta and Westmead under emerging plans for a Metro West train line.

Fairfax Media understands the Metro West line is being planned to use extra tracks and overtaking lines to combine both express trains between Parramatta and the central city, as well as trains stopping at multiple new stations through Sydney's west and inner west.

Under Mike Baird's timetable, the Metro West line was to be built next decade, and be "operational in the second half of the 2020s". Photo: Fiona Morris

The government has committed only to building stations for the line at the Bays Precinct around Rozelle and Olympic Park.

But a total of eight to 12 stations are likely to be included on the line when more detailed plans for Metro West, one of the last major commitments by former premier Mike Baird, emerge later this year.

It is unclear where those stations would be located. However, previous plans for a metro line in the region have included proposed stops at Leichhardt, Five Dock and Strathfield.

A private sector proposal for a metro line along the same corridor, put to the government last year, included stops and significant housing development at Five Dock and Canada Bay.

Under Mr Baird's timetable, the Metro West line was to be built next decade, and be "operational in the second half of the 2020s".

But business groups are increasingly pushing to accelerate work on the project, partly in recognition of the proposed intensification of development around Parramatta and Olympic Park.

The Greater Sydney Commission has nominated the so-called GPOP region  Greater Parramatta to the Olympic Peninsula  as Sydney's "true centre" and earmarked as a focus of planning.

A report commissioned by the Sydney Olympic Park Business Association, released on Tuesday, compares the infrastructure and amenity in the 4000 hectares in the GPOP area with an equivalent 4000 hectares in "east Sydney", an area stretching from the inner west to Bondi Junction.

Based on the government's population forecasts, the GPOP area is expected to be home to about 280,000 people in 2041, about the same as east Sydney now.

But the report highlights the relative lack of amenity and jobs in the GPOP area compared with Sydney's east. The report finds, for instance, that about 60 per cent of east Sydney residents catch public transport or walk to work, compared with 35 per cent of those who live in the GPOP area.

The report by SGS Economics & Planning also argues there needs to be a sharp increase in health and education facilities around the GPOP area to match facilities in the city's east. For instance, it says the number of schools in the region needs to double from 24 to at least 57 by 2041.

The western Sydney director of the Sydney Business Chamber David Borger says the Metro West project is needed as an equity measure.

"It's fine to have an ambition for GPOP and to talk about it in planning documents, but there's still a huge chasm between the provision of infrastructure services and all the things that are required," Mr Borger said.

"If we had the western metro, we would be able to achieve our aspirations for GPOP much quicker.

"If it is finished by the middle of next decade, that would be a good ambition to have."

Transport Minister Andrew Constance has argued the Metro West project is needed to take pressure off Sydney's already overstretched heavy rail line.

"By 2031, with the T1 Western Line, you quite literally won't be able to get people on trains in the morning peak," Mr Constance has said.

It is understood the government hopes to be able to combine both express trains between Parramatta and the city and all-stops services by using passing loops and extra tracks.

This is the method used on Hong Kong's airport train line to fulfil both objectives, although that line is also struggling with capacity.

The line is likely to be planned to extend eventually from Sydney's CBD to the city's south-east suburbs.

Alison Holloway, principal and partner at SGS Economics, says transport accessibility is critical to the government's ambitions for the GPOP area.

"We are seeing now in Green Square what the implications are of planning for population growth without the transport to support it," Ms Holloway said.

"We've got an opportunity here to align the land use planning with the transport and other infrastructure planning."

My understanding is that this is largely developer led at the moment. TfNSW has its hands well and truly full with the other projects in various stages of procurement, including the constituent projects forming "Line 1" of Sydney Metro all the way from the north-west to (potentially) Liverpool.

There is a bit of interest in the new western corridor which is also being driven to an extent by what is happening with Badgerys Creek.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance has confirmed the government is considering up to 12 stations for a new metro train line from central Sydney to Parramatta, as well as passing loops to ensure express trains are not hindered by all-stops services.

Councils such as Burwood are clamouring for stations on the Sydney Metro West line to be built within their boundaries, while large property owners are eagerly awaiting the final route design because of the expected uplift in values it will bring.

Out with the old and in with the new? Not for every Strathfield Station commuter.

After a report by Fairfax Media this week, Mr Constance said the government was open to considering up to 12 stations and would seek input from the private sector about their design and construction and "how you build in and around stations".

"We want to see what we can tease out of industry over the next 18 months or so," he said.

Mr Constance said the new metro line would be a "game-changer for everyone" from the Blue Mountains to the inner city because of the boost to rail capacity it would deliver along the western rail corridor.

So far, the government has committed to stations at Parramatta, Olympic Park, the Bays Precinct at Rozelle and the central city. However it has yet to reveal the exact route and cost of the rail line, along which driverless, single-deck trains will run.

The number of stations will affect the travel times of trains because of the time taken to load and unload passengers at each stop.

Mr Constance said the private sector would be asked to look at Hong Kong's design, where passing loops around stations allowed express and airport trains to run faster.

Transport insiders estimate the cost of the project to total at least $10 billion, which the government plans to fund partly from the $16 billion sale of electricity operator Ausgrid last year and so-called value capture.

The latter typically involves placing levies on new homes and other buildings close to stations.

Mr Constance said on Wednesday "we can't kid ourselves" that value capture could be used to fully fund transport infrastructure such as a metro line. "[This] is why it's important for this project that we look very carefully at how we'll build it," he said.

Apart from lobbying by councils, Sydney University has been pressing for a station on the new metro line to be built at its Camperdown campus in the inner west.

While the government is still some time away from revealing the exact route, much of it will run through tunnels and follow a similar scheme promised by the former Morris Iemma Labor government in 2007 and then abandoned.

Under the Berejiklian government's timetable, the new line will be built next decade and be operational in the second half of the 2020s.

The new line will link to the $20 billion metro railway under construction, the first stage of which from Sydney's north-west to Chatswood is due for completion in 2019.

The second stage of this line will continue on to the central business district, Sydenham and on the existing Bankstown line, and should open in 2023.

Meanwhile, Mr Constance took another swipe at the union opposed to his plans to privatise bus services in Sydney's inner west, and warned that the government was open to one day allowing other regions operated by State Transit to be run by private companies.

Two weeks ago the government announced plans to put out to private tender bus region six  covering suburbs from Kensington in the city's south-east to Strathfield and Olympic Park in the west  citing poor performance.

The decision prompted about 1200 bus drivers  members of the Rail Tram and Bus Union  to strike for a day.

Insisting he would not back down, Mr Constance said the five-year contract period for the other regions in Sydney covering the northern and eastern suburbs run by State Transit did not preclude the government from putting them out to private tender earlier.

"If cabinet resolves to make a decision ... that's what we will do," he said. "I wouldn't rule it out into the future in terms of franchising those other regions."

Driverless, single-deck trains will run along the new line to Parramatta. Photo: Supplied

Labor leader Michael Daley has committed to spending $8 billion to "fast-track" the Sydney Metro West project between Parramatta and the CBD, in an election pitch designed to resonate with voters in vulnerable seats in Sydney's west.

Mr Daley said the funding injection meant Labor would deliver the project "more quickly" than the Berejiklian government, but would not say how this would be achieved or how much earlier the project would be completed.

Instead, he said a Labor government would "at least match" the Coalition government's promise to have the line open by the late 2020s.

^^Wont be long and we'll see a fully automated Train network in the Sydney basin from the mid 2020s. Thanks to the new Driverless Metro and Signal upgrades that will allow new Waratah trains to drive themselves with minimal driver interaction. I wonder if the aim is to have Driverless Metro with regular Driver only Operation for Waratah trains? Or will they be driverless as well!?

Most likely Driver Only. The media statement last week about trains able to drive themselves after the digital signal upgrade was pretty clear and decisive. Like I stated is it the intentional aim to go down that path?No one really knows and the last thing the Government will be enlighting the general public prior to an election.

I think the likely outcome in the early 2020s will be a mixture of Driverless Metro and Driver Only Operations for trains.